Fiber-curling apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet; 1.

S. A. FLOWER &- W. S. RHOADES.

FIBER GURLING APPARATUS.

Pa. n Sep 4,18

(No Model.)

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ANDREW BJBMMMJHUTO'UTNOWASNINGTON.DE.

(NoModeh) I 2 Sheejs-Sheet 2. S.*A. FLOWER 8'6 W. S. RHOADES. FIBERGURLING APPARATUS.

N0. 546,660. Patented Sept. 24, 18.95.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL A. FLOWER AND WILLIAM S. RI-IOADES, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

FIBER-CURLING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 546,660, datedSeptember 24, 1895.

Application filed July 10, 1894- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, SAMUEL A. FLOWER and WILLIAM S. RHoADEs, citizensof the United States, and residents of Newark, in the county of Essexand State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fiber-Curling Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention consists of improved apparatus for roping and curlinganimal and vegetable fibers for upholstery and other purposes, ashereinafter fully described, reference being made to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improved curlingapparatus with a part in longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a plan viewwith some parts broken out. Fig. 3 is an end elevation as seen lookingat the right-hand end of Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is an elevation as seenin the same direction, looking from the line 00 on, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is adetail of one of the drawing and twisting heads in side'view on anenlarged scale. Fig. 6 is a section of the drawing and twistinghead-frame on line y y, Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a front elevation of thesaid drawing and twisting head-frame.

The essential feature of our invention consists of two drawing andtwisting heads placed in line with and fronting each other, both turningin the same direction and at the same rate of speed through which thematerial is passed, the first one receiving the sliver of fibers andtwisting them into a form of rope, and the second one receiving the ropewith its feed-rolls running slower than those of the first head, wherebythe rope is caused to kink and the kinks are developed in hard twisteduniform coils which remain after the rope is delivered from the secondhead, and when the ropes are subsequently picked produce high-gradecurled fibers, whether of hair or vegetable structure.

In the drawings, 0. represents a pair of rolls for receiving the sliverb from whatever source it may be supplied and delivering it to thecurling apparatus, said rolls being driven by the belt 0 from a suitablecounter-shaft d, as in Fig. 1, or they may be driven in any otherapprovedwayas, for example, in Fig. 3.

e represents the tubular stock of the first or twisting head to whichthe sliver is thus Serial No. 517,084. (No model.)

delivered. It is mounted in the standardsf and is driven bya belt g fromthe same countor-shaft d, but may be driven in any other approved way.From this stock 6 the similar stock e of the kinking-head is driven bythe spur-wheels h h and the shaft 1', by which they are geared togetherfor uniform speed of both in the same direction, but they may be gearedin any other approved way. The feed-rolls jj' of both drawing andtwisting 'heads are also geared with the shaft t', but

with the difierential spur-gears 70', whereby the rolls j of the firsthead will deliver faster than the rolls j of the second head will takeup. The arrangement of gears for transmitting the drawing or feedingmotion to the said rolls jj' is substantially the same as in ordinaryheads,'except that to adapt the feedrolls for wide ranges of adjustmenttoward and from each other for producing kinked or coiled ropes ofmaterially different variations in size we pivot them in bearings Z,fitted in slots on of the housing-plates 0 curved to the radii of thecentersp from which they are driven with adjusting-screws q and s s forshifting them, and instead of gearing the rolls together as they arecommonly geared by spur-wheels for driving one by the other, which wouldnot work well in such case, we

provide independent bevel-wheels ten the opposite housing-plates 0,mounted in the axes p, for getting the motion from the bevel-rims u,carried by the spurs 70 It, and gear them with the rolls separately bythe spur-wheels w, one of which being in the axesp and the other beingadjustable in the line of the curved slots m enable the desiredadjustments without altering the meshing of the teeth. We utilize oneadjusting-screw g at each end of the rolls for shifting the bearings ofboth rolls andfor a gage to insure their shifting alike by setting itradially to the axis p midway between the bearings of the two rollsandprovidingit with the bevel-collar a and the push-rods 1) connecting itwith the bearings respectively, said push-rods being set in the angularrelation ofthe bearings to the collar of the screw.

It will be seen that by reason of the two driving and twisting headsbeing rotated in the same direction the twist of the fibers effected bythe first head is preserved, which would not otherwise be the case, andthrough the eifect of this twist and the delivery of the twisted ropefrom the first head faster than it is taken up by the second head thecoils of kinks are produced. Vhile it is better to have the two headsrun at the same speed to preserve the twist imparted by the first head,it is not absolutely essential, because such variation as would notmaterially alter the twist would not be very detrimental.

The coiled ropes may be delivered from the second or kinking head intorotating cans as rovings for spinning are delivered from theroving-machines.

I claim- 1. In a fiber curling machine, the combination of two drawingand twisting heads placed in line and fronting each other means forretating both in the same direction, rolls carried by said heads andmeans for drivingthe rolls receiving the fiber at a greater speed thanthe rolls of the other head,substantially as described.

2. In a fiber curling machine, the combination of two drawing andtwisting heads provided with rolls, said heads being placed in line andfronting each other, means for gearing them together for uniform speedin the same direction, and means for causing the rolls of the headreceiving the fibers to revolve at higher speed than the rolls of theother head substantially as described.

3. A drawing and twisting head provided with rolls mounted andadjustable in arcs of circles, driving wheels for said rolls located inthe axis on which the rolls are adjustable, and geared with therespective rolls at their opposite ends respectively, said drivingwheels having suitable means of actuating them substantially asdescribed.

4. A drawing and twisting head provided with rolls mounted andadjustable in arcs of circles, and an adjusting screw and push rods ateach end of the rolls adapted for adjusting both rolls in one directionby said screw, with opposing adjusting screws for each rollsubstantially as described.

Signed at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, this20th day of June, A. D. 1894.

SAMUEL A. FLOWER. \VM. S. RIIOADES.

\Vituesses:

W. J. MORGAN, D. F. OMALLEY.

